The price of Bitcoin (BTC) traded around $84,000 on March 20

as price suppression tactics and shifting retail flows shaped market conditions.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) traded around $84,000 on March 20, as persistent price suppression tactics and shifting retail flows shaped market conditions.

New data suggests large-volume traders are actively limiting BTC’s upside below $90,000, even as traditional onchain metrics may no longer reflect actual retail activity.

BTC/USD reached local highs of $87,500 this week before encountering a firm rejection.

'Spoofy the Whale' Stalls Rally At $87.5K

Trading resource Material Indicators flagged aggressive order book movements on Binance as the cause for BTC’s capped momentum. According to the team,

“If you are wondering why Bitcoin price hasn't been able to rally past $87.5K yet, the reason is price suppression from Spoofy the Whale.”

They highlighted a pattern of shifting ask liquidity blocks placed just above market price—a spoofing tactic historically linked to whales.

Order book data shows spoofed resistance now clusters around $89,000. Material Indicators noted that such activity creates an artificial ceiling, preventing organic upside.

At the same time, investor class breakdowns reveal only the largest players are distributing while smaller entities remain sidelined.

Coinbase Premium Suggests U.S. Accumulation

While Binance hosts manipulatory behavior, the return of a Coinbase premium tells a different crypto news story.

The Coinbase premium index—measuring price differences between Binance and Coinbase—reached its highest level since Feb. 20 after the price of Bitcoin rallied 5% on March 19.

According to CryptoQuant analyst Woominkyu, this trend hints at renewed accumulation by U.S.-based institutions and retail investors.

“Past trends show that when this indicator rises, BTC bull markets tend to continue,” he stated. “High likelihood of an accumulation phase, making it a key moment to monitor BTC's momentum.”

The premium index’s 30-day exponential moving average (EMA) recently crossed above the 100-day EMA, adding technical weight to the analysis.

Coinbase Advanced, which absorbed Coinbase Pro earlier this year, now serves large players like Tesla and MicroStrategy—suggesting that part of the premium could also reflect institutional inflows.

Retail Enters Through ETFs, Not Wallets

Despite rising interest, onchain data shows little evidence of retail participation. That view may be outdated.

CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju said retail investors are likely accumulating via spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), not traditional wallets. According to him,

“Retail is likely entering through ETFs - the paper Bitcoin layer - which doesn't show up onchain.”

He estimated that 80% of ETF inflows originate from retail participants. According to Farside data, those inflows have reached $35.88 billion since January.

The shift renders onchain metrics—like realized cap or exchange deposits—less useful in gauging retail involvement.

At the same time, broader interest appears muted. The Google Trends score for "crypto" dropped 62% since January, while the Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell to 31 on March 20, down from 49 a day earlier.

Trendlines Face Pressure As $85K Holds

The rice action of Bitcoin remains choppy between $84,000 and $87,500. Trader Daan Crypto Trades said bulls must protect $84,000–$85,000 to maintain short-term momentum.

“Otherwise you're at risk of visiting those lower liquidity clusters,” he warned, referencing the possibility of a full retrace if the zone breaks.

He also noted that bulls are attempting to reclaim the 200-day simple and exponential moving averages near $85,000—a key signal for trend continuation.

According to trader Koroush AK, the EMAs are offering resistance at the Fib level, setting up a "no-win scenario" for either bulls or bears.

Trader Max from BecauseBitcoin added that the price of Bitcoin remains fundamentally suppressed below $88,000–$90,000 due to the EMA cloud.

However, he believed that a break above this level would open up further upside potential, possibly towards $95,000 or higher.

"We're still fundamentally range-bound, but there's potential for a break to the upside if we can manage to clear this EMA cloud and perhaps test that $90K zone again," he concluded.